Eden Challenge Race Report
The Red Ants Adventure Racing team came from all parts of the country in various forms of transport to meet at Saarsveld for the start of the Eden Challenge 2005. The team consisted of Nicky Wolff, Gerrard Booyens, Ryno Griesel, Patrick Willcock and Brian Gardner as the second.
Leg 1:12 km Paddle on George Dam.
Starting an adventure race at 10h00 in the morning with the paddle leg was a new challenge as the put in area was small and cramped. The Red Ants found a good spot and were one of the first teams in the water paddling frantically for PC4. Jan allowed the teams to go to any of the paddle PC points in any order which allowed the teams some creativity on the water to plan their routes. We paddled hard to PC4 and ran the short hike to the PC hidden near some beautiful cool pools in a stream.
The next hour consisted of some hard stints of paddling followed by muddy, quicksand like sprints around the dam to get to the PC's. At one point the Red Ants were all in sticky mud up to their waists and started laughing at the craziness of the scene they had become part of - 4 people struggling through the mud, up to their waists in it and covered from head to toe in brown mud!
We came off the water in 5th place only 10 mins behind the leading teams of Due South, Cyanosis and Mazda…
Leg 2: 25 km Hike from George to Outeniqua Pass
Starting the hike at 11:30 on a nice warm humid George day was always going to test the competitors. The run out of the dam was hot, dusty and hard and required all the ants to concentrate on their effort levels so as not o go too hard!
Climbing out of George the route soon went skywards and the real climbing of the course began as we began the ascent of the Outeniqua mtns. The route was tough on the legs as the path twisted and climbed up through the ridges and hills offering awesome views of the city and its surroundings.
Nicky led the team over countless ridges and valleys and eventually we topped out at the transition on the Outeniqua pass in 5th place. It was an awesome view but all we could think about was repairing feet and bodies for the long night ahead.
Leg 3: 106.5 km Bike from Outeniqua Pass to Karoo farm
The bike started well with a 6 km descent off the Outeniqua pass on tar. We flew down the road in line astern and were trying to make the most of the few hours of daylight left. The route soon turned nasty as we rode down the valley separating the coastal towns of Mossel Bay and George from the small karoo. The red Ants passed team Energy only to be stopped 500 m further with a Pinch flat. As we crested a long ardous climb that was unridable and required the bikes to be carried on shoulders, the sun set on the first day of the Eden Challenge.
The bike leg however continued as we entered the small Karoo and became acquainted with Ostrich farms and there appearances late at night. We eventually crested an old unused pass that took over 3 hours to climb and began the long descent in pitch black night down the other side. It was slow and sometimes painful but as we reached the Bonnidale 4x4 reserve the teams spirit lifted with the rising sun. We knew the worst was over and that the transition was closer than ever before. This turned out to be false hope…
PC 10 became our nemesis as we searched for it for 2 hours without any luck. A digital camera to prove our presence in the correct area and a team decision were all we left the location with.
It was now hot and getting hotter in the Karoo and all food reserves were low after 15 hours of riding, pushing and falling… PC 11 still needed a hike and good navigation to be found - and took half and hours walking around until tired eyes eventually spotted the PC behind a rock.
The final stretch to the transition was only possible with visions of ice cold coke being pored down our throats and was made in reasonably good time after these images were shared amongst the team.
At the transition a ketty and paintball were handed to the team and we had a chance to take out our frustrations on the creator of the race. Great fun was had by all, and Gerrard showed us what he did as a young boy…
Leg 4: 25 km Hike Karoo farm to Groot River Transistion
This was a great leg, requiring a lot of liquid refreshment as the temperature reached the mid 30's. The abseil and traverse across the Gouritz river gorge was a real treat and gave the team a lift when they really needed it. The walk to the next transition was supposed to be simple and relatively short, but an error in choosing the road more travelled than the road less travelled resulted in the team walking parallel to the river they needed to cross. Eventually the mistake was realised and two options were available - Option 1 was to walk back the 5 kms to the junction and take the correct road. Option 2 meant a treacherous descent down the side of the river gorge's almost vertical cliffs to the transition below. One guess as to which option won the competition?
The team scrambled down the gorge side and into the river surprisingly quickly and didn't lose too much time to the chasing teams.
Leg 5: 55 km Bike Groot River Transistion to Groot River Transition
The bike leg went really well as the Red Ants found some pace and made the most of the two hours of daylight left at there disposal. The Ants raced through the karoo picking up one PC after the other and relishing the mountain biking route of dry riverbeds, technical jeep track and fast flat karoo roads.
The rest of the bike leg involved a long gradual descent into the groot river valley and this was down with relative ease with good lights on the bikes. With a little help from some seconds to guide us away from steep cliffs the transition was eventually reached with bikes in hand and wet feet after river crossings.
Leg 6: 15 km Hike Groot River Transistion to End
The last hike was designed to be a victory lap and not to test the teams too much. However lack of sleep and fatigue conspired to create a navigational disaster. The Red Ants once again searched for a PC for endless hours. They searched for PC 15 for 4 hours, scrambling up and over countless gorge sides and back down without any success. The dredged the river without any luck and only after many discussions and debate realised that Mother Nature had fooled them into thinking they were in the correct place when in actual fact the PC was 2 kms further down the river. It was a setback to the team who had hoped to finish in the early hours of the Saturday evening, but as a good team does they shrugged off the setback and continued to finish the Eden Challenge at sunrise on Sunday at 05h20 in 6th place.
It was a journey of dedication and commitment to finishing and proved the Red Ants are a tough team that can overcome many challenges and still be competitive and finish tough events like this one!
Thanks again to Sandown Mitsubishi Motors for their continued support, Brian who has been our dedicated second since his injury at the Bull and Jan for an awesome race with a PC 10 that we wont forget for a while!
Report Written By Paddy Willcock